Thursday, June 7, 2012

Facebook Flash Vs. Science, Technology, Engineering and Math

From New Geography:

Facebook’s False Promise: STEM's Quieter Side Of Tech Offers More Upside For America

Facebook‘s botched IPO reflects not only the weakness of the stock
market, but a systemic misunderstanding of where the true value of
technology lies. A website that, due to superior funding and media
hype, allows people to do what they were already doing — connecting on
the Internet — does not inherently drive broad economic growth, even
if it mints a few high-profile billionaires.

Of course Facebook is a social phenomenon that has affected how
people live and interact, but its economic impact — and future level of
profitability — is less than clear. This stands in sharp contrast to
Apple‘s iTunes, which has become a new distribution platform for small
software companies and musicians, not to mention the role of Amazon
in the distribution of books and other products.

From the standpoint of economic development, it’s time to focus on
the growing divergence between two different aspects of technology. One
is largely an information sector that focuses on such things as
information software (think Facebook or Google), publishing and
entertainment. For most journalists and urban theoreticians, this is
the “sexy” sector, particularly since it tends to employ people just
like them: younger, products of elite college educations, often living
in “hip and cool” places like San Francisco, Manhattan or west Los
Angeles....MORE